


For you

by TrueDespair



Category: Zombieland Saga (Anime)
Genre: Gen, Light Angst, Not much else to tag since this isn't a romance thing, Other, Past meetings, Spoilers for episode twelve
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-01
Updated: 2019-01-01
Packaged: 2019-10-02 15:00:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,521
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17266328
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TrueDespair/pseuds/TrueDespair
Summary: He wasn’t sure why but…seeing her smile did something and he wasn’t sure what it was. It was a good feeling though. He can only watch though as she went back to her desk; humming as she went.That smile was something he just couldn’t forget, no matter how much he wanted to.





	For you

**Author's Note:**

> I decided to kick off the new year by writing a zombieland saga. I'm not sure how many I'll write for this series but I just wanted to do something especially after the last episode. This is a huge stretch of what I think happen between Sakura's death and the present on Kotaro's side. 
> 
> So please leave a comment and enjoy!

There wasn’t much that he cared about. It wasn’t to say that he had the worst upbringing, but he didn’t have the best either. He was just…there; moving and breathing like everyone else. He let the hours pass by without a second thought and just stepped into the next day as if they were mere pages in a blank book.

He had hobbies of course; who wouldn’t? But the problem they weren’t something that he can speak freely to anyone and frankly he wasn’t very keen on making friends at school either. He was fine with just going through life in a single line; not stepping out of it.

Not for anything…not for anyone.

One day, in high school; something happened.

While he was in the classroom when something fell and hit the floor right before his feet. It was a CD case. Picking it up, he took a closer it was an idol CD with the title **FANTASTIC LOVERS** on it along with the idols in their poses.

“Ah, excuse me!”

He looked up and there was her, his classmate who was a bit clumsy on her feet but an alright person, he supposed. “Oh, is this yours?”

She nodded. “Yes.”

“Ah, here.” He gave it to her.

Taking it from him, she beamed happily at him before smiling brightly. “Thank you Inui-kun~!”

He wasn’t sure why but…seeing her smile did something and he wasn’t sure what it was. It was a good feeling though. He can only watch though as she went back to her desk; humming as she went.

That smile was something he just couldn’t forget, no matter how much he wanted to.

\--

Sakura Minamoto.

That was her name.

Well he knew of her, but he didn’t bother with names beforehand. That strike him odd was that he remembered that she wasn’t exactly all smiles and happy. It was fleeting memories at that point, but he can recall them at least.

Since then, he would find himself looking at her while she listened to that Idol CD and then some. Listening to her talk about idols and then it gradually turned into something else.

He couldn’t help but one day go up and talk to her.

“Hey.”

Sakura looked up and took off one of her earbuds. “Oh Inui-kun, hello.”

Looking down at the CD case, he pointed to it. “What is it about idols that you like so much?” Obviously, he couldn’t care less but he had wondered.

His classmate’s smile faltered a bit. “Ah, well it’s silly. But…” She picked up the case. “It’s not just the idols but what they do, the work they put into their dances, their singing, putting themselves out there and they make people happy. They are putting their mark on the world. Like Iron Frill, I want to do that….I want to believe that I can….”

Ah, it wasn’t just the smile that got him.

It was the hope behind that smile.

“So, you want to be an idol like them?”

“Yeah!” Sakura nodded; her smile lighter. “I want to be on that stage and wow the people. It would be the greatest accomplishment of my life; a dream come true!”

Goals and dreams.

Something that was foreign to him but to her, it was something that would make her happy.

To see that come true.

It brought a tiny smile on his face for a moment.

Before he can say anything more, the school bell rang and lunch break was over. He supposed there wasn’t more to say as he just waved before going back to his desk. He thought he heard something behind him but he didn’t hear clearly before everyone was seated for the afternoon.

While the teacher was droning on about something, he gave another glance at Sakura who was doing her best to pay attention to the lesson. He wasn’t one to care about anyone but to hear that earnest tone in her voice and that hope that was on her face, he couldn’t help but want to root for her.

If anyone can be some idol, then it can be her.

\--

“Did you hear about Minamoto?”

“I know, it’s so sad and she was so young…”

“I bet her family is devastated….”

It was raining the day a funeral was held for her. He and his classmates along with many other people were here for the ceremony. Everyone had umbrellas over their heads and a priest was there as chimes were heard.

He heard that Sakura was killed; hit by a pickup truck and died upon impact. It was then that he realized that life was fleeting, and it can end in a second.

But why?

Why did it have to be _her_?

That frustrated him more than anything. Sakura….they were just classmates; they rarely talked and they weren’t even friends. But he just couldn’t forget that smile…and the hope that was in it.

Now that hope died along with her and her dreams.

Instead a mark on the world, she was then just a mark in the ground; forever having her time stopped the moment she died.

He had to cover his eyes with an arm as he felt the rain coming down his face despite himself being under an umbrella.

Despite those feelings rolling inside of him, he couldn’t himself to say anything to the family; just running away as soon as the funeral has ended.

His umbrella discarded on the ground as he went.

\--

He eventually went to her grave, though months passed before he got the courage to. He was holding some flowers in his arms.

“…Sakura…” He murmured as he stared at the tombstone. “It’s been a while…you don’t remember me and I don’t expect you to. But before, I asked what makes you so interested in idols, you said that you wanted to make a mark on the world…that being on stage would be a dream come true to you….it was something you wanted to do….”

He can see that smile, even now…it was so unfair…for someone to just die the way that she did….

“I was angry.” He continued. “And I wasn’t sure why. We’re not friends, we barely spoke to each other. I could have gone my whole life without ever really knowing you. You may not know it, but you already made a mark on this world…through me. And it sucks that no one else will understand that…that smile of yours…it won’t be there anymore…”

He placed the flowers down. “I can’t let this go. You deserve to be on that stage and making that mark on the world…I wish…I wish there was something I can do to help…” It was too late, Sakura was dead and there was no way they can turn back time. If only….

If only…she can be brought back somehow.

It clicked in his head, a way to make her dream happen. It would be impossible, it would be irrational and maybe even unethical but…he just can’t let it go.

He’ll make this happen, one way or another.

“Sakura…your dream will come back to life…” He declared. “Even if it takes years, I will not give up. I can promise you that…so wait just a little longer…” With a huff, he bowed and left the cemetery. This may be the wildest thing he might ever do.

And yet, he couldn’t care less.

As he finally and for once in his life, had a goal to accomplish.

\--

_Years later_

When he heard that Sakura was nowhere to be found by the others, of course he went back out to look for her. It didn’t take long for him to know where she ended up. But by the time she saw her, he had a panicking policeman to deal with. So he did the next thing that any rational person could have done.

He threw his zombie dog at the back of the policeman’s head; effectively knocking him out.

Of course, that surprised Sakura greatly.

“This isn’t where you belong right now…Sakura Minamoto….” _‘You belong on stage, you belong with the other girls, making mistakes and learning from them, having fun…and most of all, you making a mark on the world…starting with Saga…’_

It didn’t matter to him that she couldn’t remember him, and he can care less at the things he was doing or the kind of person that he was then. All that mattered was getting Sakura back on that path that she wanted to be on years before and seeing that smile as she moves towards that goal on the big stage.

Sakura blinked as she tilted her head. “Who are you?”

“I’m Kotaro Tatsumi, damn it!” He shouted back. He was no longer a classmate of Sakura Minamoto but a manager and a producer of Franchouchou and he was fine with that.

He refused to let her dream die a second time.

And he will not abandon her now.

Bad luck be damned.

\--

**END**


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